ITV1 gets Champion ratings

Soccer final generates year's biggest audience

Live coverage of the European soccer Champions League final between English teams Manchester United and Chelsea generated the year’s biggest TV audience in Blighty.

Terrestrial giant ITV1 averaged 11.1 million viewers and an audience share of 46% for the match, played in Moscow on Tuesday and beamed across the globe. At one point, during the penalty shootout, 14.6 million Brits were tuned in to the game.

The web’s director of news and sport Mark Sharman said: “The viewing figures once again reaffirm the power of top-level football on free-to-air television in uniting mass audiences.”